This invention relates generally to telephony based service systems and, in particular, to a management system having a client server based architecture interconnected by a telephone network whereby a plurality of terminal devices may have access to various service networks simultaneously over a single line connection to the telephone network.
Conventional wisdom of telephony service providers has been to offer subscribers new services, such as ISDN, effected through an upgrading of networking facilities and installation of additional access lines, typically fiber cable, to subscriber homes. This approach is a rather expensive endeavor and consequently is being carried out gradually.
An alternative for deriving more service from existing network facilities is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,133, issued Oct. 29, 1991 to Melrose, which relate to a call management system wherein a plurality of terminal devices may be accessed separately over a single access line. The Melrose system enables a caller to recursively access a plurality of service terminals including a computer, facsimile machine, answering machine and telephone set. In response to an incoming call, the Melrose system connects the caller to an answering machine which plays a recorded announcement that indicates the various service options available. The caller can then select any one of these options by dialing an associated code indicated by the announcement, responsive to which the system connects the caller to the corresponding service terminal. If the selected option proves unproductive for the caller, the call either automatically returns to the answering machine or the caller may dial another code in order to access its corresponding service terminal. This recursive feature enables the caller to sequentially select each service terminal to which the caller is connected, thereby achieving access to the multiple services in a single call connection.
The Melrose system is deficient in that access to the multiple service terminals can only be effected with a human caller through a manual selection process and it is only capable of sequential access to the multiple terminals. Furthermore, the Melrose system supports only telephone network based access and can not interface with other communication networks.
It is, therefore, desirable to have adjunct systems whereby more value from existing telephone network facilities may be realized.